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Zack Dasbur
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Need Help with Tenants and Residential Elevator

Zack Dasbur
Posted Nov 17 2022, 13:01

Hi Everyone, 

I have been buying and renting out high-end townhomes for 4 years now. One of my recent acquisitions I purchased has a private four story residential elevator. The unit is brand new and I have been living in there for the past six months. I recently decided to move to another property and I have tenants and a lease signed for December for my home with the elevator. 

I am a bit worried about my elevator and safety/liability. Do I need to make an addendum for the tenants explaining rules for an elevator and have them sign it so they understand? I am a bit worried in a worst case scenario if something were to happen. I am going to have the elevator inspected by the company that installed it regularly. I obviously can't control how my tenants use it though/who they invite to the house. 

Basically can I make an addendum that covers me if they treat it poorly and it affects someone's safety? Has anyone been in a similar situation? What would you do/go about it in my situation? 

Thanks for your time!
 

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Kenny Smith
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Kenny Smith
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Replied Nov 17 2022, 15:14

@zach dasbur

Great question.  I have not experienced owning a property with an elevator, but your first call should be to your insurance agent!  See what is in your landlord policy, and ensure there are no exclusions for something like this.

They can best walk you through your options and how ensure you have ample coverage.  Good luck!

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Richard F.#1 Tenant Screening Contributor
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Richard F.#1 Tenant Screening Contributor
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Replied Nov 17 2022, 19:34
Aloha,

You need to find out what local regulations are for elevators. Even though only one resident apparently has access, it is likely that since they ARE a tenant, it would be viewed as a "public" elevator, subject to the same inspections as a high rise elevator.
You can never lawfully have a tenant sign away rights to sue or to waive your liability.
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Bjorn Ahlblad
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Bjorn Ahlblad
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Replied Nov 17 2022, 19:44

@Zack Dasbur You can't pass the safety issue onto your tenant. You can try but if there is an event where someone were to be hurt or killed they will be on you no matter what the tenant signed. Instead show them how it is meant to be used in a safe manner, how wonderful it is, it is part of the premises and any unsafe use will be treated as a lease infraction and the tenant should govern them selves accordingly. 

Get them to sign the addendum including the safe operation instructions; I assume they have already entered into a lease. We also make tenant insurance a condition of the lease with us as an additional interest. That way you are notified if the insurance were to lapse.

Talk to your insurance agent as was mentioned earlier and make sure you have sufficient liability insurance to cover all your assets if you don't already have that. All the best!

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Theresa Harris
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Theresa Harris
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Replied Nov 17 2022, 20:45

Can you just cut power to the elevator, so they cannot use it and put that in the lease?

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John Mocker#1 Insurance Contributor
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John Mocker#1 Insurance Contributor
  • Insurance Agent
  • Norwalk, CT
Replied Nov 18 2022, 09:38

Zack,

For your policy, try to add Equipment Breakdown coverage.  Review the endorsement with your agent and make sure it will cover the elevator,  Also, if this is in an association, review the bylaws and declarations of the association to see if they are responsible for it.

For the Tenants, insist on renters Insurance.  Limits of $300,000 or higher for the Liability,

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Susan Mangan
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Susan Mangan
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Replied Nov 18 2022, 13:21

We had a rental property we were managing that included an elevator (Our first time with an elevator). Two days after a new tenant moved in, they called on Friday afternoon at 4:30. They were stuck in the elevator! Turns out the tenant opened the inner door too soon, and the system jammed. Make sure the tenant knows to always completely shut both doors (private elevators have an inner door and an outer door) of the elevator, knows where the manual door release is, and check to see if your elevator will reset if you turn the breaker off. After 30 minutes, the tenant managed to pull the manual door release, and she was pulled up out of the elevator, which was stuck between floor 2 and 3.

Call around to different elevator service companies in your area to get an idea of pricing before anything happens. I ended up spending hours on the phone, looking for a repairperson to fix the jammed elevator. I discovered that a company might call itself an "Elevator Company", but that does not mean they do repairs. 

One elevator service company wanted to charge us $1500 for just a trip charge and the first hour of service. Another one was much more reasonable, and charged us $215.00 for the visit, and first hour. 

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Colleen F.
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Colleen F.
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Replied Nov 19 2022, 18:08

@Zack Dasbur  While you can't sign away liability you could put in  the lease that they property has an elevator and they are responsible for proper use, attach the critical points to the lease on use and also cover elevator related charges.  For example if they get stuck due to improper use who pays.  Probably in the case of an issue this could help you.  check with insurance too.

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Greg Weik
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Greg Weik
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Replied Dec 2 2022, 08:26

@Zack Dasbur I believe your first contact should be with a real estate attorney to ensure you have an elevator addendum specific to your unit.  

Said addendum will incorporate everything from the operation, maximum weight limit, whether it can or cannot be used for moving furniture, how repairs are handled, exculpatory language in the event the elevator is out of service (i.e., you are/are not required to provide any rental credit), how power outages are handled, etc. Your addendum will be part of the file for this townhome and can be used with all future leases.  

It's not just a question of insurance coverage, it's imperative that tenants sign off on the property usage of the elevator, permit routine maintenance inspections, a requirement to report any potential repair issues with the unit, etc. 

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Zack Dasbur
Replied Dec 13 2022, 07:36

Thank you all so much for your advice. It helped my tremendously. I talked to a real estate attorney and created a elevator addendum. It has rules and also a liability release form. Vail resorts has an elevator addendum that they use for guests as well, which he informed me of. If anyone needs a elevator addendum please reach out to me!